Graphical user interface with method and apparatus for interfacing to remote devices

ABSTRACT

An intuitive graphical user interface is based upon a geographic map structure, and includes a system for controlling remote external electronic devices. In the defined graphical user interface, each Space of the geographic map structure is rendered on a touch screen display as a graphic image of a geographic space. Within each Space are colored cartoon-like icons called &#34;objects&#34; which can be Selected and manipulated by the user. Certain objects, referred to as portals, transport the user from one Space to another Space when Selected. Other objects, referred to as buttons, perform associated actions or functions when Selected. The graphical user interface is displayed on a hand-held display device used to control remote devices. Each remote electronic device transmits a user interface program object that defines a graphical user interface to the display device. The hand-held display devices displays the graphical user interface associated with the remote device when a user selects an icon associated with the remote device on the display device&#39;s touch screen display.

This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 08/407,212 filed Mar. 20,1995, now abandoned which is a divisional of Ser. No. 08/067,574 filedMay 24, 1993, now abandoned.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to the field of graphical user interfacesfor computer systems and, more particularly, to a method and apparatusfor providing an intuitive methodology for an operator to control remotedevices with a computer controlled object-oriented user interfaceutilizing animated graphic images.

2. Art Background

Most popular graphical user interfaces that are available today, such asthe Xerox Star®, Apple Macintosh®, and Microsoft Windows graphical userinterfaces, are based upon the "desktop metaphor." In a desktop metaphorsystem, the display screen is treated as a virtual desktop. Graphicalsymbols placed on the virtual desktop (i.e. the display screen) are usedto represent common objects found in an office environment such asfiles, file folders, and printers. These desktop metaphor systems haveseveral limitations which hamper the effectiveness of the man-machineinterface between the human operator and the computer system.

One problem with the existing desktop metaphor graphical user interfacesis the use of a hierarchical file system. Most desktop metaphorgraphical user interfaces are based upon a computer having a file systemin which the computer files are organized in a hierarchical structure.The hierarchical file system structure has a root directory and severalsub-directories within the root directory. Each sub-directory may havesub-sub-directories, and so on. The hierarchical file system structureis graphically illustrated on the screen as some type of root filecabinet with file folders inside. The Microsoft Windows and AppleMacintosh® operating systems both use hierarchical file systemsillustrated as file folders.

The hierarchical structure of file folders is often very confusing tonew users. For example, many users get lost while navigating throughhierarchical file systems because the system of keeping files in filefolders, which are in other file folders nested to an arbitrary depth isinherently confusing. Users become lost because each file folder lookslike every other file folder, and the user is provided with littlefeedback as to his location within the file system hierarchy. Also, eachfile folder provides no information as to what the file folder containsother than a user-defined label. For example, except for a short textlabel, which may have been defined by another user, the user generallyis not able to determine whether an open folder is an accounting filefolder containing spreadsheet data, or a data base file foldercontaining a customer data base. Therefore, navigating through thecomplex file system hierarchy is difficult since the current desktopmetaphor graphical user interface offers little feedback as to a user'slocation within the file hierarchy.

In current graphical user interface systems based upon the desktopmetaphor, certain applications often do not fit well into a desktopmetaphor environment conceptually. Specifically, non-office relatedapplications may be inappropriate for a system based upon the desktopmetaphor. For example, in a desktop metaphor, an application thatcontrols a television would have to be placed into a "paper" file folderon the desktop.

Another common problem with desktop metaphor user interfaces is thatdisplaying a large number of applications on the desktop results in acluttered desktop. Many users of desktop metaphor systems keep largenumbers of applications and files, usually in icon form, on the displayscreen. Some attempt is made to use a graphical representation thatidentifies the type of application or file. However, when a user wishesto open a particular application or file, the user must search thedisplay screen to find the desired icon just as if the user were tryingto find a particular paper file on a messy desktop. Icons placed thedesktop have no apparent hierarchy, and are all equal. This equality mayconfuse a user, and may create problems when the user wants to switchfrom one task to another.

Several systems have evolved to improve the organization of the desktopmetaphor graphical user interface. One system is the concept of "Rooms".See, Patrick Chan, "Learning Considerations in User Interface Design:The Room Model", Report CS-84-16, University of Waterloo ComputerScience Department, Ontario, Canada, July, 1984; Brenda Laurel,"Computers as Theatre", Addison-Wesley Publishing Co., 1991; BrendaLaurel, "The Art of Human-Computer Interface Design", Addison-WesleyPublishing Co., 1990; U.S. Pat. No. 5,072,412, Henderson, Jr. et al.,"User Interface with Multiple Workspaces for Sharing Display SystemObjects", and the references cited therein.

In systems based upon the Rooms concept, the user creates differentrooms where the user performs a single task or a group of related tasks.Each room represents an individual virtual desktop with a group ofassociated tasks. Each room is given a label that identifies the roomwith the room's functions. For example, a user may create a mail room, atyping room with a word processor, and an accounting room with aspreadsheet. Each room has only those icons and windows that areassociated with the particular task of the room, as well as any windowsshared by all rooms, such as a clock.

To switch between tasks in a system that uses the Rooms concept, a usermoves between the different rooms that are associated with the differenttasks. For example, to go from a spreadsheet to retrieve email, a usermoves from the accounting room to the mail room. To move between the tworooms, a user selects an icon that represents a door connecting thecurrent room to the other room. Users can create doors between any ofthe available rooms.

Although the Rooms concept helps solve the problem of the "cluttereddesktop," the Rooms concept still relies upon the common desktopmetaphor. For example, the Rooms interface concept does not helpsimplify the confusing hierarchical file structure used to storeinformation. The Rooms concept also does little to solve the form andfunction inconsistencies that are apparent when applications which donot fit into the desktop metaphor are added to the system.

In prior art graphical user interfaces, each time a new piece ofhardware is introduced to the system a new piece of control softwaremust also be added by the user. For example, if a user of an Apple®Macintosh® or a user of Microsoft® Windows desires to add a new printerto the system, the user must also install a new printer driver tocontrol the added printer. Therefore, each time a user desires to add anew device to the system, the user must also follow a complicatedprocedure to add the appropriate software.

As will be described, the present invention provides an improvedgraphical user interface that overcomes several of the problemsassociated with desktop metaphor systems. A method and apparatus forobtaining the user interface of a remote device without requiring theuser to load the related software is also disclosed. The remote devicecan be controlled using the remote device's user interface as displayedon the present invention's display screen. Although the user interfaceis described with reference to the control of remote devices, it will beappreciated from the discussion that follows that the user interface maybe applied to a variety of applications in computer workstations,portable computers, and hand held control systems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides an intuitive graphical user interface anda method and apparatus for controlling remote devices. The graphicaluser interface of the present invention is displayed on a hand-helddisplay device. The hand-held display device comprises at least onecentral processing unit (CPU) coupled to a graphic display system. Inthe present embodiment, the graphic display system is touch sensitive topermit the user to input information using a fingertip without the needfor additional input devices such as a keyboard. A communicationscircuit is also coupled to the CPU transmitting information over somecommunication medium. The communications circuit is used to control andto communicate with remote devices.

The graphical user interface of the present invention creates a world ofSpaces organized into a geographic map structure that is simple tonavigate through since each Space provides familiar geographicsurroundings. Each Space is represented by a background image whichprovides navigational landmarks that identify where the Space is locatedwithin the geographic map structure. For example, the background imageof a living room Space contains items typically found in a living roomsuch as a lamp, a chair, and a table. Therefore, navigation through this"world" is made easier because the user can orient himself by lookingaround and examining the surroundings just as a person would do in thereal world.

Within each Space, the user interface provides graphic objects that canbe selected and manipulated by the user. The graphic objects arerendered as animated cartoon-like graphic objects that are easilyidentifiable as real world objects such as televisions and VCRs. Thereare at least three types of objects that exist in the Spaces of the userinterface: data objects, buttons, and portals. Data objects are objectsthat are associated with a particular piece of data. Buttons are objectsthat are associated with a particular function or action, when a userselects a button, the user interface performs the function or actionassociated with the button. Portals are objects that are displayed in afirst Space but are associated with a second Space; when a user selectsa portal the user passes through the portal and moves to the secondSpace associated with that portal. The user environment is furtherenhanced by the use of sound, coordinated with every user action andsupplementing the visual feedback provided.

To control real world remote devices, many of the graphic objectspresented on the screen are associated with remote devices in the realworld. To control a remote device, a user selects the graphic objectpictured on the display screen associated with the particular remotedevice. After the user selects a graphic object associated with a remotedevice, the hand-held display device displays a user interface forcontrolling the remote device. The user can then interact with theremote device's user interface. To control the remote device, thepresent invention invokes a device driver method for the remote device.The device driver method may be located within the remote device orwithin the local hand-held display device, depending on the remotedevice's sophistication.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The objects, features and advantages of the present invention will beapparent to one skilled in the art, in view of the following detaileddescription in which:

FIG. 1a illustrates an overview of the remote control functionalityprovided by the present invention.

FIG. 1b illustrates an overview of the hardware used to implement thehand-held display device of the present invention.

FIG. 1c illustrates a block diagram of an intelligent remote device thatis controlled by the present invention.

FIG. 1d illustrates a block diagram of a simple remote device that iscontrolled by the present invention.

FIG. 1e illustrates a block diagram of conventional electronic devicethat is controlled remotely by the present invention.

FIG. 2a illustrates a structure of different geographic spaces.

FIGS. 2b-2c illustrate a sample geographic map structure of spaces usedto provide a user interface.

FIG. 3 illustrates a view of the outer-space Space of the user interfacebased upon the geographic map structure in FIGS. 2b and 2c.

FIG. 4 illustrates a first view of the Earth's surface Space in the userinterface based upon the geographic map structure in FIGS. 2b and

FIG. 5 illustrates a second view of the Earth's surface Space in theuser interface based upon the geographic map structure in FIGS. 2b and2c.

FIG. 6 illustrates a view of the first house Space of the user interfacebased upon the geographic map structure in FIGS. 2b and 2c.

FIG. 7 illustrates a view of a living room Space in the user interfacebased upon the geographic map structure in FIGS. 2b and 2c.

FIG. 8 illustrates a view of a television Space in the user interfacebased upon the geographic map structure in FIGS. 2b and 2c.

FIG. 9 illustrates a view of a television program listing book Space inthe user interface based upon the geographic map structure in FIGS. 2band 2c.

FIG. 10 illustrates a view of a single television program descriptionSpace of the user interface based upon the geographic map structure inFIGS. 2b and 2c.

FIG. 11 illustrates a conceptual view of the television program listingbook Space of FIG. 9.

FIG. 12 illustrates a view of a plurality of objects which do not fit ona single screen display.

FIG. 13 illustrates a conceptual view of the plurality of objects placedon an object wheel.

FIG. 14 illustrates a conceptual view of the object wheel of FIG. 13where the object wheel has rotated revealing new objects.

FIG. 15 illustrates the Spin gesture being used to spin an object wheel.

FIG. 16a illustrates a Pickup gesture being used to pickup an object offan object wheel.

FIG. 16b illustrates a Pickup gesture being used to pickup an objectfrom a Space.

FIG. 17a illustrates the Agent Portal of the present invention wearing adoctor's uniform to symbolize a diagnostic mode.

FIG. 17b illustrates the Agent Portal of the present invention holding apencil to symbolize a writing mode.

FIG. 17c illustrates the Agent Portal of the present inventionattempting to alert the user about a recent event.

FIG. 18a illustrates an intelligent device transmitting its graphicaluser interface to a display device.

FIG. 18b illustrates a display device displaying the graphical userinterface of an intelligent controllable device.

FIG. 18c illustrates the display device transmitting user interactionswith the user interface to the intelligent device.

FIG. 18d illustrates the intelligent device transmitting return valuesor feedback to the display device.

FIG. 19a illustrates a conceptual diagram of the program objects in theintelligent device being sent to the display device.

FIG. 19b illustrates a conceptual diagram of the program objects of theintelligent device in the display device.

FIG. 19c illustrates a conceptual diagram of the display device invokinga method in an object within the remote intelligent device.

FIG. 19d illustrates a conceptual diagram of the method in an objectwithin the remote intelligent device returning status.

FIG. 20 illustrates a flowchart of the transfer of an intelligentdevice's user interface.

FIG. 21a illustrates a state diagram of the RPC manager for a clientrequesting a remote method invocation.

FIG. 21b illustrates a state diagram of the RPC manager for a serverhandling a remote method invocation.

FIG. 21c illustrates the sequence of a remote method invocation.

FIG. 22a illustrates the simple device transferring its graphical userinterface to a display device.

FIG. 22b illustrates a display device displaying the graphical userinterface of the simple controllable device.

FIG. 22c illustrates the display device transmitting simple controlcodes to the simple device.

FIG. 22d illustrates the simple device transmitting return values orfeedback to the display device.

FIG. 23a illustrates a conceptual diagram of the program objects in asimple device being sent to the display device.

FIG. 23b illustrates a conceptual diagram of the program objects of thesimple device in the display device.

FIG. 23c illustrates a conceptual diagram of the display device invokinga method in a program object and transmitting control codes to thesimple device.

FIG. 23d illustrates a conceptual diagram of the remote simple devicereturning status information.

FIG. 24 illustrates a flowchart of the transfer of a simple device'suser interface.

NOTATION AND NOMENCLATURE

The detailed descriptions which follow are presented largely in terms ofdisplay images, algorithms, and symbolic representations of operationsof data bits within a computer memory. These algorithmic descriptionsand representations are the means used by those skilled in the dataprocessing arts to most effectively convey the substance of their workto others skilled in the art.

An algorithm is here, and generally, conceived to be a consistentsequence of steps leading to a desired result. These steps are thoserequiring physical manipulations of physical quantities. Usually, thoughnot necessarily, these quantities take the form of electrical ormagnetic signals capable of being stored, transferred, combined,compared, selected, chosen, modified, and otherwise manipulated. Itproves convenient at times, principally for reasons of common usage, torefer to these signals as bits, values, elements, symbols, characters,images, terms, numbers, or the like. It should be borne in mind,however, that all of these, as well as similar terms, are to beassociated with the appropriate physical quantities and are merelyconvenient labels applied to these quantities.

In the present case, the operations are machine operations performed inconjunction with a human operator. Useful machines for performing theoperations of the present invention include general purpose digitalcomputers or other similar devices. In all cases, the distinctionbetween the method operations of operating a computer and the method ofcomputation itself should be kept in mind. The present invention relatesto method steps for operating a computer and processing electrical orother physical signals to generate other desired physical signals.

The present invention also relates to apparatus for performing theseoperations. This apparatus may be specially constructed for the requiredpurposes or it may comprise a general purpose computer selectivelyactivated or reconfigured by a computer program stored in the computer.The algorithms presented herein are not inherently related to anyparticular computer or other apparatus. In particular, various generalpurpose machines may be used with programs in accordance with theteachings herein, or it may prove more convenient to construct morespecialized apparatus to perform the required method steps. The requiredstructure for a variety of these machines will appear from thedescription given below. Machines which may perform the functions of thepresent invention include those manufactured by the Assignee,FirstPerson, Inc., as well as other manufacturers of computer systems,including Sun Microsystems, Inc. of Mountain View, Calif.

CODING DETAILS

No particular programming language has been indicated for carrying outthe various procedures described herein. This is due in part to the factthat not all languages that might be mentioned are universallyavailable. Each user of a particular computer will be aware of alanguage which is most suitable for his immediate purposes. In practice,it has proven useful to substantially implement the present invention ina high level language which is then compiled into machine executableobject code. Because the computers and the monitor systems which may beused in practicing the instant invention consist of many diverseelements, no detailed program listing has been provided. It isconsidered that the operations and other procedures described herein andillustrated in the accompanying drawings are sufficiently disclosed topermit one of ordinary skill to practice the instant invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

A computer based remote control system with an intuitive graphical userinterface is disdosed. In the following description, for purposes ofexplanation, specific nomendature is set forth to provide a thoroughunderstanding of the present invention. However, it will be apparent toone skilled in the art that these specific details are not required topractice the present invention. In other instances, well known circuits,functions, processes, and devices are shown in block diagram andconceptual diagram form in order not to obscure the present inventionunnecessarily.

System Overview

FIG. 1a illustrates an overview of the computer based remote controlsystem of the present invention. The main component of the presentinvention consists of a hand-held display device 170 as illustrated inFIG. 1a. In the present embodiment, the hand-held display device 170comprises a computer system with a color graphic touch screen display.The hand-held display device 170 is designed to control any compatibleremote device such as thermostat 150, video cassette recorder 39, andstereo system 152. The hand-held display device 170 communicates withthe remote devices using a communications medium 160.

The remote control system of the present invention as illustrated inFIG. 1a differs significantly from prior art remote control systemssince it s based upon modular object-oriented software. Theobject-oriented software provides features previously not available inprior art remote control systems. For example, when an operator(sometime referred to herein as a "user") adds a new compatible remotedevice, such as thermostat 150 to the system, the new remote devicetransmits information about itself to the hand-held display device 170.The transmitted information includes a user interface object that can beused to render a graphical user interface for the remote device. Thepresent invention uses the user interface object to display a graphicaluser interface for the new remote device on the hand-held display device170. The transmitted information may also include a device driver objectthat is used to control the new remote device. To organize all theavailable user interface objects, the hand-held display device 170creates a "world" of geographic Spaces that can be easily be navigatedusing a set of gestures.

This Specification will first disclose the hardware required toconstruct the hand-held display device 170 and the compatible remotedevices of the present invention. The graphical user interfacecomprising geographic Spaces and objects which is displayed on thehand-held display device 170 will then be described. A set of gesturesused by operators to navigate around the user interface of the presentinvention will also be defined. To combine the user interface elements,a tour through an embodiment of the user interface of the presentinvention will be provided to illustrate how the navigational gesturesare used to interact with the objects displayed on the hand-held displaydevice 170. Finally, the system of obtaining information from the remotedevices is defined, such that the hand-held display device 170 maycommunicate with and control remote external devices.

Due to the limitations of a written Specification to describe animatedevents on an interface, the reader is referred to a video tape entitled"Green Project User Interface," submitted by the applicant concurrentlywith the filing of the application on which this patent is based. Inaddition it must also be noted that the features of the presentinvention are illustrated in black and white within the accompanyingfigures. However, in the presently preferred embodiment, and asdescribed below, objects and features are displayed in color.

Hardware Configuration

The hand-held display device 170 of the present invention comprises acomputer system, such as that illustrated in FIG. 1b. The computersystem 170 of FIG. 1b includes a central processing unit (CPU) 30, amemory unit 33, and an input/output (I/O) unit 34. These elements arethose typically found in most general purpose computers, and in fact,the hand-held computer system 170 is intended to be representative of abroad category of data processing devices capable of generating graphicdisplays.

Coupled to the input/output (I/O) unit 34 of computer system 170 is acolor graphic screen display 37. The screen display 37 comprises, inpart, a color raster display device such as a cathode ray tube (CRT)monitor or a liquid crystal display (LCD). The screen display 37 must beof sufficient resolution such that screen display 37 can render graphicimages.

In the preferred embodiment, the screen display 37 further comprises atouch screen display system. The touch screen display includes a featurethat can detect the presence of a finger touching the display screen 37.Furthermore, the touch screen can identify the precise location of thefinger touching the display screen 37 such that the display screen cansense finger gestures made by a user's finger on the display screen 37.The touch screen display 37 may comprise one of a variety of touchsensitive display screens commercially available on the market.

Alternatively, the hand-held computer system 170 may be constructed witha conventional graphic display system without a touch sensitive displayscreen. Such a system requires an alternative input system to obtain theuser's interactions. FIG. 1a illustrates an alternative input device 42.Although the user interface of the present invention may be used withalternative input devices 42 such as mice, trackballs, and joysticks,the system will be described within this specification as the preferredembodiment with a touch screen display 37.

In operation, the CPU 30 generates and displays a graphical userinterface on touch screen display 37 through the execution of computercode stored in memory 33. The computer code stored in memory 33 is notdisclosed herein since the description of the present invention in thisSpecification is sufficient for one skilled in the computer art toutilize the teachings of the invention in a variety of computer systemsusing one of many computer languages.

Coupled to the input/output (I/O) u n it 34 of computer system 170, inFIG. 1a, is an external communication circuit 35. The externalcommunication circuit 35 provides a system for transmitting andreceivinginformation to and from the hand-held computer system 170. Thepresent invention uses the external communication circuit 35 in computersystem 170 to communicate with remote devices such as a video cassetterecorder 39 and a thermostat 150, across communications medium 160. Thecommunication circuit 35 may use one of many well-known communicationtechnologies such as radio waves, low power, cellular, infrared signals,or data signals carried on existing power lines.

To be controlled by the present hand-held display device 170 of thepresent invention, a remote device must have at least one method forreceiving information transmitted by the hand-held display device 170.Ideally, the remote devices are intelligent devices that can bothtransmit and receive information. However, the hand-held display device170 can control any remote device that fits within any of the threefollowing remote device "types".

The first type of remote device that can be controlled by the presentinvention is an "intelligent remote device" specifically designed tooperate with the hand-held display device 170. In the present invention,an "intelligent remote device" is defined as a remote device thatcontains a microprocessor, a communication system, and a memory. FIG. 1cprovides a block diagram of the components in an intelligent remotedevice 150. As illustrated in FIG. 1c, the intelligent remote device 150comprises a CPU 403, a memory 404, a communications circuit 401, and adevice control circuitry 405.

The hand-held display device 170 of the present invention communicateswith an intelligent remote device 150 through the intelligent remotedevice's communications circuit 401. The memory 404 stores programs anddata used by the CPU 403, including a user interface object 303 and adevice driver object 301. The CPU 403 in the intelligent remote deviceinvokes methods in the device driver object 301 to control the remotedevice.

The second type of remote device that can be controlled by the presentinvention is a "simple remote device" specifically designed to operatewith the hand-held display device 170. In the present invention, aremote device is defined as a "simple remote device" if the remotedevice does not have a microprocessor or the remote device contains sucha primitive processor that the hand-held display device 170 can notinvoke methods in a device driver object within the remote device.

FIG. 1d provides a block diagram of the components in a typical simpleremote device 155. As illustrated in FIG. 1d, the simple remote device155 comprises an emitter 420, a receiver 421, a memory 424, and devicecontrol circuitry 425. The emitter 420 in the simple remote device 155is used to transmit the contents of the memory 424 to the hand-helddisplay device 170. Therefore, the simple remote device 155 transmitsboth the user interface object 353 and the device driver object 351 inthe memory 424, such that the hand-held display device receives bothobjects.

To control the simple remote device 155, the display device 170 invokesa method within the device driver object 351 to translate the user'sinteractions into simple predefined control codes. The display device170 then transmits the simple predefined control codes to the simpleremote device 155 which receives the control codes though receiver 421and passes the information to the device control circuitry 425.

Finally, the third type of remote device that can be controlled by thepresent invention is a conventional electronic device that can becontrolled by transmitted signals such as infrared signals. Therefore,the present invention is backward compatible with most existing devicesthat can be controlled remotely. FIG. 1e illustrates a typicalelectronic device 157 that can be controlled by coded signals. Thedevice has a receiver 450 for receiving transmitted coded controlsignals and device control circuitry 455 for responding to the codedcontrol signals. The hand-held display device 170 controls theelectronic device 157, by transmitting coded control signals. The remoteelectronic device 157 receives the transmitted signals and respondsaccordingly.

The Display Device User Interface

In order to create a new product that is easy to use, product designersattempt to make the new product operate in a manner similar to an oldproduct that the intended operator already knows how to operate. Forexample, audio cassette tape recorders have been available for such along time that most people know how to operate an audio cassette taperecorder. The play, stop, rewind, fast-forward, and record buttons oncassette tape recorders are therefore familiar to most people. Videocassette recorder manufacturers produced easy-to-use video cassetterecorders by taking advantage of this common knowledge. The videocassette recorders are easy to use since the video cassette recordersused the same buttons, i.e., the play, stop, rewind, fast-forward, andrecord buttons, that audio cassette recorders utilize for operation.

To make the hand-held display device 170 easy to use, the presentinvention displays an intuitive graphical user interface on thehand-held display device 170. This section defines the graphical userinterface which is provided to users on the hand-held display device170.

To design a graphical user interface that is easy to navigate, designersshould organize the graphical user interface with a structure that mostusers already understand. Humans live in a three dimensional geographicworld. To survive in our three dimensional geographic world people mustlearn how to navigate around the local geographic area, including suchgeographic spaces their house, their neighborhood, and their town. Inorder to do this, each person creates a mental map of geographic spacesof their relevant local world.

The mental maps of geographic spaces people create are de-factogeographic map structures. FIG. 2a illustrates a typical geographic mapstructure. For example, every person on this planet knows that they liveon the Earth. Each person also lives in a certain town; yet, each personis aware that other towns exist on the Earth. Each person lives at aparticular house on a particular street; yet, each person is aware thatthere are other streets in the town with other houses on each street.The identification of one particular house on one street within one townon Earth is a naturally occurring geographic map structure asillustrated in FIG. 2a.

The geographic map structure can be extended into the house. Forexample, the living room is one room of many within the house. Thetelevision, television program schedule and the video cassette recorderare objects within the living room. Each object can have its owngeographic space. The map structure can also be extended to abstractspaces as well as geographic spaces. Each television program listed in atelevision program schedule has a program description. The programdescription can be considered a space within the television programschedule. Most people understand both the structure of geographic spacesand the detail that will be found within each geographic space.Therefore the de-facto geographic map structure of spaces represents astructure that is familiar to most people.

The present invention uses the familiar geographic map structure of ourthree dimensional world in a graphical user interface. The presentinvention describes a technique of user navigation in an arbitrarilylarge and complex geographic map structure through graphic backgroundimages that depict geographic spaces. Such geographic map structuresimprove a user's memory of complex data organization. The advantage ofincluding such geographic map structures is that the familiar structuresenable a wider range of people to use information storage facilitated bya computer.

FIGS. 2b and 2c illustrate a sample geographic map structure utilized bythe present invention. In the present invention, each Space in thegeographic map structures of FIGS. 2b and 2c is represented as abackground image on the display screen of hand-held display device suchas the one illustrated in FIG. 1b. Located within each geographic Spaceare objects that can be selected and manipulated by the user.

User Interface Display Elements

The user interface environment of the present invention consists of twomain display elements: "Spaces" and selectable "objects." Each area ofthe geographic map structure of FIGS. 2b and 2c represents a Space. TheSpace provides a geographic reference that informs a user of the user'scurrent location within the geographic map structure. Within each Spaceare one or more "objects." A user may select and manipulate the objectswithin each Space. In the present embodiment of the hand-held displaydevice 170 with touch screen display 37, a user may select objects bytouching the objects displayed on the touch screen display 37. Pointingdevices other than the user's finger and input devices, other than atouch screen, might handle selection and user input in a differentmanner.

Spaces

Each Space in FIGS. 2b and 2c has an associated background image thatcontains appropriate imagery for the Space. When a user enters a Space,the Space's background image is rendered on the display screen 37. Eachbackground image contains landmarks that help the user identify wherethe user is. For example, the Earth's surface Space 32 of FIG. 2b isillustrated as the background images in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5. The Earth'ssurface background image of FIGS. 4 and 5 resembles a street on theEarth's surface, thereby informing a user that the user is at theEarth's surface Space of the map structure. The system renders thebackground image using desaturated or dimmed colors such that thebackground image can easily be distinguished from Selectable objects.The background image for a Space may be larger than the display screen37; therefore, the present invention provides a gesture for "panning"such that a user may move around within a Space as will be explainedlater.

Objects

Objects are individual graphical icons that are rendered within thebackground images of Spaces. Each object is actually an object-orientedprogramming type of object containing data methods which can be invokedto act on the data. A user can select and manipulate any of the objectswhich appear within the background image of a Space. Each object isbrightly colored and outlined in black. The bright colors distinguishthe objects in a Space from the Space's background image that is drawnusing desaturated colors. When a user points to an object, the userinterface generates a "Selectable Object" sound that informs the userthat the object can be selected and manipulated. Referring again to FIG.4, in the present example, the houses 47 and 48 are objects that can beselected and manipulated by a user.

An "anticipation animation" is used in the present invention to informthe user when some action is taking place. The anticipation animation isa short animation displayed on the display screen 37 that is generatedby the CPU 30. In most cases, the anticipation animation consists ofenlarging an object's icon such that the icon appears to move closer tothe user when the object is selected.

For example, referring to FIG. 3, when the Earth portal 100 is selected,the Earth portal 100 expands such that it appears to move doser to theuser. After the Earth portal 100 anticipates, the user interfaces movethe user to the Earth's surface Space 32 that is associated with theEarth portal 100 as illustrated in FIG. 4.

When a user selects an object by pointing to the object for apredetermined minimum period of time, a sound is generated, the objectanticipates, and the CPU invokes a method within the object whichperforms an action associated with the object.

There are at least three types of objects that exist in the userinterface of the present embodiment: data objects, buttons, and portals.The simplest object is a data object. Data objects are objectsassociated with a set of data. Buttons are objects that provide a meansfor accomplishing functions. Portals provide a method for moving betweendifferent Spaces. Each type of object will be explained individuallybelow.

Data Objects

A data object is a simple object used to represent some piece ofinformation. For example, a data object may represent a color or atelevision channel. The data objects have no methods that can be invokedto perform an associated action or function when the data object isselected. However, a data object can be dropped onto other objects thatuse the information in the data object. For example, a televisionprogram listing data object can be dropped onto a video cassetterecorder object to program the video cassette recorder to record thetelevision program.

Buttons

A button object is a special object that has an associated action orfunction When a user selects a button, the CPU 30 invokes the actionmethod in the button object to cause the execution of the action orfunction associated the button. When the button is selected, the CPUalso anticipates the button and generates a "button action" soundproviding feedback to the user that the button has been selected.Certain buttons provide additional visual feedback to inform the user ofthe results of the method invoked by the CPU to perform the actionassociated with the button.

For example, referring to FIG. 8, a television power "on" button 61 anda television power "off" button 62 are displayed. When a user selectsthe television power "on" button 61, the television power "on" button 61anticipates and the CPU 30 generates the "button action" sound. The CPU30 also invokes a method in the button object that transmits thenecessary information to turn on a real television set associated withthe television control panel illustrated in FIG. 8.

If the real television set is an "intelligent remote device", thetelevision set may return a result value to the display device informingthe user whether or not the television was turned on. The user interfacemay then light up the television power "on" button 61 and generate a"hum" sound to inform the user that the real television was actuallyturned on.

Buttons can be copied and moved to different Spaces so that a user cancustomize the "world" of the user interface. For example, the televisionpower "on" 61 and the television power "off" 62 buttons could be copied,and the button copies moved from the television control Space to anyother Space. A user may use the copies of the television power "on" 61and the television power "off" 62 buttons in the new Space to controlthe television.

Portals

Portals are objects that provide a simple method of moving from thecurrent Space to another Space associated with the portal. A user movesfrom the current Space to another Space associated with a portal bysimply Selecting the portal. After a user selects a portal, the portalanticipates, generates a "movement through portal sound," and the CPUinvokes a method that moves the user to the Space associated with theportal.

For example, referring to the geographic map of FIG. 2b, to move fromthe Earth's surface Space 32 to the house Space 50, a user simplyselects the house portal 48. Referring to the Earth's surface Space 32as illustrated in FIG. 4, a user performs the move by selecting thehouse portal 48 within the Earth's surface Space 32. After beingselected, the house portal 48 anticipates, generates a "movement throughportal sound," and then the user is moved to the house Space 50 asillustrated in FIG. 6.

Portals can be duplicated and moved such that a user can customize the"world" of the user interface. For example, in FIG. 7 a televisionprogram schedule portal 71 is illustrated within the living room Space60. The TV program schedule portal 71 is associated with a Space thatcontains TV program schedule information. A user can make a copy of thetelevision program schedule portal 71 and move the copy to another Spacewhere the user would like to be able to access the television programschedule. The user can then use the copy of the television programschedule portal to access the same information that could be accessedusing the original television program schedule portal. Thus, a userwould be able to access the same information from different Spaces.

There are two special portals that are almost always available to anoperator of the user interface: a Wayback portal and an Agent portal.

The Wayback Portal

The Wayback portal provides a way for a user to trace back a path thatthe user has traveled along between different Spaces. The Wayback portal45 consists of a small rectangular frame that encloses a snapshot of theprevious Space along the path of Spaces that the user traveled along.Since the background image for a Space can be larger than what can beseen in a single view, the Wayback portal shows a snapshot of the viewof the previous Space exactly as it appeared when the user went througha portal in that previous Space. In the present embodiment, the Waybackportal is available to the user in every Space in the lower right-handcorner of the display screen. If desired, the user can move the Waybackportal to a new location on the display screen such that the Waybackportal will then appear at the new location on the screen in everySpace.

To move one step backward along the current path, the user Selects theWayback portal 45. When Selected, the CPU 30 anticipates the Waybackportal 45, generates a "move through Wayback portal" sound, and movesthe user to the Space pictured within the Wayback portal. In the presentembodiment, the "move through Wayback portal" sound is actually the samesound as the "move through portal" sound except that it is playedbackwards. By playing the "move through portal" sound backward whenmoving through the Wayback portal, the movement backward along thecurrent path is emphasized to the user.

As users go through portals they leave a trail of invisible markers.Each marker represents a visit to a Space. The Wayback manages thesemarkers and maintains them in the order that the Spaces are visited. Themarkers and the markers' order define the path that the user has takenthrough the world of the user interface. Thus, when a user goes thoughthe Wayback, the path defined by the markers is retraced one marker at atime. Each time the user goes through the Wayback to a Space, a markeris removed from those currently managed by the Wayback.

For example, referring to geographic map structure illustrated in FIG.2b, if a user starts in the outer-space Space 99, moves to the Earth'ssurface Space 32, and then moves to the house Space 50; a path will begenerated from the outer-space Space 99 to the Earth's surface Space 32to the house Space 50. After traversing this path, the display screen 37will display the house Space 50 as depicted in FIG. 6. In the lowerright corner of the house Space 50 is the Wayback portal 45. Asillustrated in FIG. 6, the Wayback portal 45 displays a miniaturesnapshot of the previous Space along the Space path. In this case, theprevious Space along the Space path is the Earth's surface Space 32;therefore, the Wayback portal 45 displays a miniature snapshot of theEarth's surface Space 32 as it appeared when the user went through thehouse portal. If the user then Selects the Wayback portal 45, theWayback portal 45 anticipates, generates the "move through Waybackportal" sound, and then moves the user to the Earth's surface Space 32as depicted in FIG. 4. At the Earth's surface Space 32 as depicted inFIG. 4 the Wayback now displays a miniature snapshot of the outer-spaceSpace 99, which was the first Space along the path. The Wayback portal45 therefore provides a "way back" along the path of Spaces the user hastraveled.

The present invention implements the Wayback portal 45 as a stack ofdata structures, wherein each data structure contains a pointer and apair of coordinates. The pointer in each data structure on the stackpoints to a Space that the user has previously visited. The pair ofcoordinates in each data structure on the stack specifies exactly wherethe user was within the Space pointed to by the pointer when the userleft the Space through a portal. Each time the user moves through aportal from a particular Space, the user interface "pushes" a datastructure, containing the pointer to the Space and the coordinate pairwhich defines exactly where the user was within the Space when he wentthrough the portal, onto the wayback stack. The Wayback portal 45displays a miniature snapshot of the Space that is pointed to by thepointer in the data structure on the top of the stack. To trace backalong the path of Spaces, each time the user Selects the Wayback portal45, the user interface "pops" a data structure off the stack and movesto the Space indicated by the pointer in the data structure.

The Agent Portal

The Agent is an anthropomorphic character that aids the user innavigating around the user interface and in dealing with events thatoccur in the "world" created by the user interface. Referring to theEarth's surface Space of FIG. 4, the Agent 41 is illustrated in thelower left corner. The Agent 41 carries objects around for the user.This carrying function is represented by a briefcase, which the Agentalso carries. A user can access objects that the Agent is carrying bySelecting the Agent portal 41 thereby entering an Agent Space associatedwith the Agent portal 41. When a user Selects the Agent portal 41, theAgent anticipates by appearing to pull out the briefcase and open thebriefcase up. The CPU then generates the "move through portal" sound andmoves the user to the Agent Space.

To place an object into the Agent's briefcase, a user picks up theobject and then "Drops" the object onto the Agent portal 41. The objectDropped onto the Agent portal 41 is then always accessible to the userfrom any Space by entering the Agent's Space. The Agent is discussedmore fully below in the section entitled "The Agent."

Object Wheel

It is often necessary that a user make choices among an large, arbitrarynumber of objects. Therefore, the user interface must provide both amethod of displaying a large number of objects and a method of allowingthe user to Select any of the displayed objects.

For example, referring to the television control Space 64 illustrated inFIG. 8, the user interface of the present invention must provide amethod of displaying an arbitrary number of television channels for theuser to choose from. In any system, screen space is at a premium, sowhen the user must choose among many possible options, the options mustbe presented compactly. In the present invention, if there are 500television channel objects for a user to select from, presenting themall at once would not only take up significant screen space, but thevisual context of the list (i.e., why is the user looking at this listin the first place) would be lost. Thus, a method for allowing the userto browse through the available objects is required.

The user interface of the present invention introduces an "object wheel"to provide a method for allowing a user to choose from a large group ofobjects. In the object wheel, a few immediately accessible objects aredisplayed in an object wheel on the display screen while the remainingobjects in the group are not rendered on the screen. To access theobjects not rendered on the screen, the user "Spins" the object wheel tomove the previously inaccessible objects into view on the displayscreen.

Referring to FIG. 12, a large number of fruit objects are available fora user to choose from, yet only four fruit objects fit horizontally onthe display screen 37 at once. To provide the user with access to allthe fruit objects available, the present invention puts the strip offruit objects onto an "object wheel" 38 as displayed in the conceptualdiagram of FIG. 13. A few of the objects on the object wheel 38 areimmediately accessible to a user on the display screen 37. To access theobjects that are not displayed on the display screen 37, the userrotates the object wheel 38. As the object wheel 38 rotates, new objectsare brought into view and other objects disappear from view asillustrated in FIG. 14. An operator uses the navigational gesturesPoint, Spin, and Pickup to manipulate the object wheel presented on thetouch screen display 37. These three navigational gestures are explainedin the following section.

In order to enhance the user's feeling that a real wheel is being spun,object wheels obey the laws of physics. For example, the object wheelshave mass and therefore inertia; object wheels spin faster as the userapplies more "force" when spinning the wheel; object wheels respond tofriction since a spinning object wheel gradually stops spinning.

While an object wheel is spinning and the objects are moving across thescreen, the current embodiment of the user interface generates a"clicking" sound. The "clicking" sound generated by the user interfacesimulates the sound made by detents on a slot machine wheel which forcesthe wheel to stop and be aligned. Like a real wheel, the object wheelsof the present invention always stop aligned, and never stop in betweenobject choices. A user can stop a spinning object wheel at any time byPointing to a moving object on the object wheel while the object wheelis spinning.

An object wheel can be aligned vertically or horizontally on the displayscreen. When placed vertically, the object wheel can be spun both up anddown. When placed horizontally, the object wheel can be spun both leftand right.

User Interface Navigational Gestures

Navigation and object manipulation in the user interface are performedusing a screen pointing device. In the preferred embodiment, thehand-held display device 170 is constructed with a touch screen display37 and the pointing device used is a user's finger. Alternatively, theuser interface may be implemented using any other type of screenpointing device such as a mouse, a trackball, or a joystick. Thisspecification, however, will only describe the preferred embodiment thatuses the user's finger as a pointing device on a touch screen.

In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the handhelddisplay device 170 comprises, in part, a touch screen display 37 asillustrated in FIG. 1b. The touch screen display 37 senses when a fingerhas been placed on the display screen and identifies where the fingerhas been placed. Users select objects on the touch screen and manipulatethe objects using a set of six navigational gestures: Point, Select,Pan, Spin, Pickup, and Drop. Each navigational gesture used by the userinterface is explained individually below. (Since the navigationalgesture names are the same as common words, this specification willcapitalize all references to the navigational gestures.)

Point

Point is the most simple gesture in the user interface of the presentinvention. An operator uses the Point gesture to pick objects renderedon the display screen. For example, if the user interface of the presentinvention requests the user to choose one of many objects rendered onthe display screen, the user Points to an object to choose the object.

A user Points to an object by simply placing a finger on the objectdisplayed on the touch screen. When a user has successfully Pointed toan object, the user interface generates a "Selectable Object" sound. TheSelectable object sound provides feedback to the user indicating thatthe user has successfully Pointed to the object.

Select

The Select gesture is very similar to the Point gesture. An operatoruses the Select gesture to have an object invoke a method to perform anfunction or action associated with the object. For example, a Selectedportal invokes a method that moves the user to the Space associated withthe portal and a Selected button invokes a method that performs theaction or function associated with the button.

To Select an object, a user first Points to an object by touching theobject with a finger. If the user continues to Point to the object for apredetermined minimum period of time, the object becomes Selected. Aftera user Selects an object, the object "anticipates," generates a soundfor user feedback, and then a method within the object is invoked. Ifthe object is a button, then the method invoked performs a functionassociated with the button. If the object is a portal, then the methodinvoked will move the user to the Space associated with that portal.

Alternatively, a user can Select an object on the display screen byquickly Pointing to the object twice in succession. When a user Selectsan object by quickly Pointing to the object twice, the object does notanticipate. Instead, the user interface only generates the appropriatefeedback sound and then performs the action associated with the object.This provides the user a method of Selecting an object quickly.

Pan

To move around within a Space a user uses the Pan navigational gesture.A user Pans though a Space by placing a finger on the background imageof a Space displayed on the touch display screen 37 and sliding thefinger in the desired direction of movement. The user interface of thepresent invention responds by generating a "Pan Active" sound and movingbackground image of the Space and all the objects within the Space inthe opposite direction of the finger's movement. By moving the Space inthe opposite direction, the user interface simulates movement of theusers' point of view in the other direction.

FIGS. 4 and 5 illustrate the use of the Pan gesture. If a user placeshis finger on the background of FIG. 4 and then slides the finger on thetouch screen to the right, the view will correspondingly pan to theright by moving the background image of the Space and all the objectswithin the Space to the left. FIG. 5 illustrates the result of the Panright operation where house 48 has moved from the right side of thedisplay screen over to the left side of the display screen.

The background image for each Space in the present invention can bearbitrarily large. If the background image of a Space has finite size,the user interface of the present invention provides feedback that thefurthest extent of the background image has been reached. When a userPans in a direction all the way to the end of a background image, thePan gesture will not move the user any further in that direction. Toinform the user of this fact, the user interface generates an "end ofextent" sound instead of the "Pan Active" sound when a user attempts toPan past the end of a background image. The "end of extent" sound soundslike a "thud" made when something bumps into a wall. The "end of extent"sound thereby informs the user that the user has hit the end of thebackground image and can go no further.

Spin

An operator uses the Spin gesture to browse through several objectsplaced on an object wheel. When a user Spins an object wheel, thevisible objects on the object wheel move across the display screen anddisappear off one end of the screen and previously invisible objectsmove onto the display screen at the other end.

A user Spins an object wheel by placing a finger on the object wheel andthen moving the finger across the display screen in a direction parallelto the object wheel's movement. FIG. 15 illustrates the Spin gesture. InFIG. 15, a user first places a finger on the object wheel (as shown bythe asterisk 96). The user then slides the finger across the objectwheel (as shown by the arrow 97). This finger gesture causes the objectwheel to Spin in the direction of the finger's movement. The faster theuser slides the finger across the object wheel on the display, thefaster the object wheel spins. Once the object wheel is spinning, theobjects on the object wheel appear at one end of an object wheel, moveacross the display screen, and then disappear off the other end of theobject wheel similar to figures which appear on a slot machine wheel.

Pickup

The Pickup gesture is used to pickup an object located within a Space oron an object wheel such that a user can carry the object around the"world" defined by the user interface of the present invention. In thepresent embodiment, different methods are used to Pickup an object froma Space or an object wheel. Each method will be explained individuallybelow. However, it will be appreciated that the same gesture could beused to pickup objects in both situations.

The gesture used to Pickup an object from an object wheel is illustratedin FIG. 16a. FIG. 16a illustrates an object wheel 91 with a number offruit objects to choose from. To Pickup one of the fruit objectsdisposed on the object wheel 91, a user first places a finger on theobject (as designated by the asterisk 92) and moves the finger in adirection perpendicular to the motion of the object wheel. The movementof the finger in a direction perpendicular to the motion of the objectwheel is illustrated by arrow 93. The perpendicular finger motion"tears" the object off the object wheel such that the user can move theobject. When the object comes loose from the object wheel, the userinterface generates a "tearing" sound that informs the user that theobject has been removed from the object wheel. When an object has beenpicked up, the object casts a shadow onto the background image of theSpace and moves the object along with the user's finger.

The gesture used to Pickup an object from a Space is illustrated in FIG.16b. FIG. 16b illustrates a Space with an object in the center. ToPickup the object, a user circles the object with the finger asillustrated by arrow 203 and then touches the object as illustrated byasterisk 201. When the object comes loose from the Space, the userinterface generates the tearing sound that informs the user that theobject has been picked up. After an object has been picked up from aSpace by a user, a ghost image of the object remains at the object'soriginal location. The ghost image of the object is drawn in desaturatedcolors indicating to the user that the ghost object cannot be Selected.

After a user has picked up an object, either from an object wheel or aSpace, the user interface generates a "carrying object" sound thatinforms the user that an object is being carried. The user can move thecarried object within a Space, from Space to Space, or Drop the carriedobject onto another object.

Drop

The final gesture used to interact with the user interface of thepresent invention is Drop. After a user has used the Pickup gesture topick up an object from a Space or from an object wheel, the user mustcontinue to keep the finger pressed against the screen to carry theobject. The user moves the carried object by sliding the finger acrossthe touch screen display system. After moving the carried object to adesired location, the user then uses the Drop gesture to place theobject at the desired location. To drop the object the user lifts thefinger off the touch screen display. When the user Drops an object, theobject falls into the background image of a Space as if pulled bygravity, and the object no longer casts a shadow.

A user of the present invention uses the Drop gesture to perform anumber of different functions. The Drop gesture can be used to copy anobject by picking up the object and Dropping the object into a portalsuch that a copy of the object is created in the Space associated withthe portal. The Drop gesture can be used to move an object to a newlocation by picking up the object and Dropping the object at the desiredlocation. The Drop gesture can also be used to provide a data objectcontaining information to another object which uses the information toperform a function. Each different use of the Drop gesture will beexplained below.

To make a copy of an object using the Drop gesture, a user must firstPickup the object and then Drop the object onto a portal. An object thathas been picked up is carried over the portal by sliding the fingeracross the screen. Once the carried object is over the portal, theportal becomes highlighted such that it provides feedback to the usersignaling that the carried object is over the portal. In the presentembodiment, the portal emits a green glow. To Drop the carried objectinto the portal, the user lifts the finger away from the touch screendisplay. The object is then displayed such that it passes through theportal with an appropriate animation. During the animation, the CPU 30generates a "sucked through portal" sound effect. When the object hascompletely disappeared through the portal, the ghost image of the objectdrawn in desaturated colors in the present Space changes back into abrightly colored object. This provides visual feedback to the user thatthe original object remains in the present Space even though a copy ofthe object has been sent through the portal to another Space.

Users can move objects either within a single Space or from one Space toanother. To move an object within a single Space a user first uses thePickup gesture to pick up an object, moves the object to the desired newlocation, and then Drops the object using the Drop gesture. After theobject is Dropped, the ghost image of the object merges with the Droppedobject at the new location to form a single brightly colored image ofthe object at the new location. This informs the user that the objecthas been moved to a new location and that a copy has not been made.

Moving an object to another Space is accomplished by carrying the objectthrough a portal to another Space. To move an object to another Space, auser must first Pickup the object and then carry the object over aportal. Once the carried object is over the portal, the portal becomeshighlighted such that it provides feedback to the user signaling thatthe carried object is over the portal, and the portal emits a greenglow. To move the carried object through the portal, the user holds theobject over the portal for a predetermined minimum amount of time. Theportal eventually anticipates moving the user and the carried object tothe Space associated with the portal. The ghost image of the carriedobject drawn in desaturated colors is also moved along, with the user,and the carried object to the destination Space. When the user Drops thecarried object by lifting his finger off of the touch screen displaysystem, the carried object and the ghost image merge into a singlebrightly colored image of the object. This provides feedback to the userthat the object has been moved to the Space and has not been copied.

The Drop gesture can also be used to provide information to an object. Auser provides information to an object by Dropping an object containingdata (i.e. a data object) onto the object which will use that data.

To provide information to an object, a user must first Pickup a dataobject that contains the necessary information. The user then carriesthe data object over the object which can utilize the information. Whenthe carried data object is over the object that can utilize theinformation, the object that can utilize the information becomeshighlighted if the carried data object is of the correct class. Bybecoming highlighted, the object that can utilize the informationprovides feedback to the user that the carried data object is of thecorrect class. To Drop the data object into the object that can utilizethe information, the user lifts his finger used to carry the data objectaway from the touch screen. The data object is then passed through andinto the portal with appropriate animation and sound effects. When thedata object has completely disappeared into the receiving object whichcan use the information, the receiving object then performs theappropriate function on the data provided.

For example, the Drop gesture can be used to provide television programinformation to the video cassette recorder object which is associatedwith a physical video cassette recorder, such that the video cassetterecorder programs itself to record the television program. To programthe video cassette recorder, a user first uses the Pickup gesture topickup a data object containing television program information. The userthen carries a television program data object over the video cassetterecorder object. The video cassette recorder object then modifies itsappearance to indicate it is a "program video cassette recorder" mode.This informs the user that the video cassette recorder "understands" theinformation that is over it (i.e., the video cassette recorder will beprogrammed to record the television program if the user Drops thetelevision program data object onto the video cassette recorder).

When the user Drops the television program object into the videocassette recorder, the video cassette recorder object recognizes thatthe television program data object contains information it can use. Thevideo cassette recorder then extracts the time and channel informationfrom the television program data object such that the video cassetterecorder object programs itself to record the television program.

A Tour of the Present Embodiment in Operation

To best convey the look and feel of the user interface of the presentinvention, a "tour" through a sample environment is provided withreference to FIGS. 3-10. The sample environment explored in the tour isbased upon the geographic map structure of Spaces diagrammed in FIGS. 2band 2c. The tour through the sample environment described herein is notintended to limit the scope of the present invention, but instead toprovide an example of one possible embodiment of the present invention.Due to the limitations of a written Specification in describing thepresent invention's animated user interface, the reader is encouraged toview a video tape entitled "Green Project User Interface," submitted bythe applicant concurrently with the filing of the application on whichthis patent is based.

Referring to FIG. 3, upon first entering the user interface of thepresent invention, the user interface initially positions the user in anouter-space Space 99. This Space is illustrated in the geographic mapstructure of Spaces diagrammed in FIG. 2b. Although, the user isinitially placed in the outer-space Space 99, the user interface willlater start the user at the last Space the user was in when the userquit using the hand-held display device. Referring again to FIG. 3, atthe outer-space Space 99, the user interface renders a brightly coloredEarth portal 100 against a dark outer-space background image on thedisplay screen.

Soon after entering the user interface, an outline of a hand 31 appearson the display screen to teach the user how to navigate around the userinterface. The hand 31 that appears on the display screen is the hand ofthe Agent. The Agent's hand 31 extends a finger to touch the screen andthen slides the finger across the screen causing the Space and objectson the screen display to Pan and the user interface to emit the "Panningactive" sound. Referring to FIG. 3, the outline hand 31 of the Agent isshown moving across the screen. By touching the display screen andmoving a finger across the display screen, the Agent's hand 31demonstrates to a new user how to use the Pan gesture to move around theview of a Space.

After demonstrating how to use the Pan gesture to move around in aSpace, the hand 31 of the Agent next demonstrates how to use the Pointand Select gestures. The Agent demonstrates how to use the Point gestureto Point to an object by placing a finger on the Earth portal 100. Afterthe Agent Points to the Earth portal 100, the user interface emits the"Selectable Object" sound to provide feedback which informs the userthat the Earth portal 100 is a Selectable Object. The Agent thendemonstrates how to use the Select gesture to Select an object bycontinuing to Point to the Earth portal 100. After the Agent's hand 31Points to the Earth portal 100 for the predetermined minimum amount oftime, the Earth portal 100 anticipates and the CPU generates the "movethrough portal" sound. The Earth portal 100 anticipates by expandingrapidly such that the Earth portal 100 appears to move closer to theuser. The screen then fades and a new background image appearsdisplaying the Earth's surface Space 32 associated with the Earth portal100, as illustrated in FIG. 4.

At the Earth's surface Space 32, the Agent portal 41 appears to "jump"onto the touch screen display 37 and moves to the lower left comer ofthe display screen. The Agent 41 will always be accessible to the userbecause the agent appears in every Space, except the Agent's Space. Ifdesired, the user can move the Agent from the lower left corner to adifferent location on the display screen. This movement of the Agentwill change the Agent's location in every Space.

Referring to FIG. 4, in the lower right corner of the display is theWayback portal 45. The Wayback portal 45 displays a framed snapshot ofthe outer-space Space 99 from FIG. 3 which the user just came from. Ifthe user Selects the Wayback portal 45, the user interface of thepresent invention moves the user back along the traveled path to theSpace illustrated within the Wayback portal 45. For example, if the userdesires to return to the outer-space Space 99 displayed in the Waybackportal 45, the user simply Selects the Wayback portal 45.

The Earth's surface Space 32 depicted in FIG. 4 is comprised of a numberof houses and community buildings such as stores, banks, schools, etc.Each building in the Earth's surface Space 32 represents a portal thatcan be Selected by the user to move the user to a Space associated withthe portal. For example, in the Earth's surface Space depicted in FIG.4, the first house 47 and the second house 48 are portals which can beSelected by the user. If the user Selects either the first house 47 orthe second house 48, the user will be moved to an associated houseSpace.

While within the Earth's surface Space depicted in FIG. 4, the user canmove around in the Space by using the Pan gesture on the touch screen asdemonstrated by the Agent's hand 31 in FIG. 3. To Pan, the user simplyplaces a finger on the screen and moves the finger in the direction theuser wishes to move. The user interface responds to the user's fingermotion by generating the "Panning Active" sound and moving thebackground image and the objects on the screen in the opposite directionof the finger's movement, thereby bringing other objects into the view.

For example, if a user viewing the Earth's surface Space 32 as depictedin FIG. 4 wishes to move to the right, the user simply places a fingeronto a background area of the Earth's surface Space 32 and slides thefinger to the right. The user interface reciprocally responds to theuser's finger motion by moving the Space's background image and theobjects in the Space to the left. FIG. 5 depicts the view of the Earth'ssurface Space 32 after the user has placed a finger onto a backgroundarea of FIG. 4 and slid the finger to the right. A first house portal 47displayed in FIG. 4 has moved out of the view and is not visible in FIG.5. A second house portal 48 displayed on the right side of the view inFIG. 4 has moved to the left side of the view in FIG. 5 and now is onlypartially visible. A bank portal 49 that was not visible in FIG. 4 hasmoved into view from the right as illustrated in FIG. 5. The Agent 41and Wayback portal 45 remain in the view in the same lower left andlower right positions respectively.

When the user Selects any portal from the Earth's surface Space 32 asdepicted in FIGS. 4 and 5, the Selected portal anticipates to providefeedback to the user and the user interface moves the user to a Spaceassociated with the Selected portal. For example, when a user at theEarth's surface Space 32 depicted in FIG. 4 Selects the first houseportal 47, the house portal 47 anticipates and then the user interfacemoves the user to a house Space associated with the house portal 47.FIG. 6 illustrates a house Space 50 associated with the house portal 47of FIG. 4.

The house Space 50 displayed in FIG. 6 consists of a house with theouter walls removed such that the individual rooms inside the house arevisible. All of the rooms inside the house, such as the living room 54,bedroom 53, bathroom 55, attic 52, and kitchen 56 depicted in FIG. 6,are portals that can be Selected by the user. As illustrated in FIG. 6,the Wayback portal 45 contains a miniature snapshot of the Earth'ssurface Space 32, as it appeared when the user left the previous Space.Thus the Wayback portal 45 depicted in FIG. 6 not only contains aminiature view of the Earth's surface Space, but a view of that portionof the Earth's surface Space 32 that was in view when the user Selectedthe house portal 47 of FIG. 4. To move back up to the Earth's surfaceSpace of FIG. 4, the user Selects the Wayback portal 45 that contains asnapshot image of the Earth's surface Space.

Referring to FIG. 6, if the user Selects the living room portal 54, theliving room portal 54 anticipates, the "move through portal" sound isgenerated, and the user interface moves the user to a living room Spaceassociated with the living room portal 54. Referring to FIG. 7, anembodiment of a living room Space 60 is depicted. Within the living roomSpace 60 of FIG. 7 is a television 73, a video cassette recorder 75, anda television program schedule book 71. The television 73, video cassetterecorder 75, and television program schedule book 71 are each portalsthat can be Selected by the user. The television 73 and the videocassette recorder 75 portals are associated with a real television andvideo cassette recorder respectively.

When a user Selects the television portal 73 displayed within the livingroom Space 60 of FIG. 7, the television portal 73 anticipates and theuser interface displays a graphical user interface associated with thereal television. FIG. 8 depicts the television control Space 64 whichcomprises the television's graphical user interface in the presentembodiment. The objects available in the television Space 64 include agreen "on" button 61, a red "off" button 62, and several televisionchannel buttons 66-69. The television channel buttons 66-69 are on ahorizontally aligned object wheel 63 such that a user can Spin theobject wheel 63 left or right in order to reveal additional televisionchannel buttons that are not currently displayed on the display screen.

The on button 61, off button 62, and television channel button 66-69objects available in the television Space 64 are not portals that giveaccess to other Spaces in the Space map of FIG. 1b. Instead, the onbutton 61, off button 62, and television channel buttons 66-69 arebuttons that are associated with functions. For example, the green "on"button 61 and red "off" button 62 are associated with the functions"turn the television on" and "turn the television off" respectively.When a user Selects either the on or off button, the button anticipatesto provide feedback to the user that the button was Selected. Thehand-held display device then transmits the appropriate commands thatturn the television on or off. Similarly, if the user Selects any of thetelevision channel buttons 66-69, the television channel buttonanticipates and the hand-held display device transmits the appropriatecommands to the real television thereby tuning the television to theSelected channel. The process of transmitting commands to the physicaltelevision set is explained in detail in the following section.

Referring back to FIG. 7, if a user Selects the television programschedule book portal 71, the television program schedule book portal 71anticipates, and the user interface moves the user to the televisionprogram schedule Space. FIG. 9 depicts the television program schedulebook Space of the present embodiment. In the television program schedulebook Space of FIG. 9, the user is presented with a two dimensional arrayof television program listings. The array organizes the televisionprogram listings vertically by television channel and horizontally bytime. Each television program listing is a portal that can be Selectedby the user. Each television program listing can also be carried by theuser and Dropped onto the video cassette recorder portal such that thehand-held display device programs the video cassette recorder to recordthe television program.

The television program schedule book Space of FIG. 9 is actuallyorganized as a pair of connected vertically oriented object wheels.Referring to FIG. 11, a conceptual diagram of the television programschedule book Space is illustrated. The television channels of FIG. 9are placed on a first object wheel 72 as illustrated in FIG. 11. Thetelevision program listings are placed a second object wheel 85. The twoobject wheels 72 and 85 are connected such that if the user Spins eitherobject wheel, the other object wheel will spin at the same rate suchthat the television channels and television program listings are alwaysaligned.

Each television program listing on the television program scheduleobject wheel 85 is a portal. When a user Selects one of the televisionprogram listing portals, the television program listing portalanticipates and the user interface moves the user to a televisionprogram information Space. FIG. 10 illustrates a typical televisionprogram information Space. The television program information Spaceincludes a clock 81, a date 82 and television channel 83 which informthe user when the television program is on and what channel thetelevision program is on. The television program information Space alsoincludes a description of the television program as illustrated in FIG.10.

The Agent

The Agent is an anthropomorphic character designed to help a user of thepresent invention in a number of ways. The Agent assists users byproviding help, providing state information, alerting the user tocertain events, and acting as a repository. Each function performed bythe Agent will be explained individually.

Help

As previously described in the tour of the present embodiment, withreference to FIG. 3, when a user first enters the user interface of thepresent invention, the Agent demonstrates how to use the Point gestureand the Select gesture. Furthermore, the Agent demonstrates how to usethe Pan gesture to move around within a Space. The Agent can alsodemonstrate how to use other features of the user interface asnecessary.

To further aid users, the Agent carries a help manual in its briefcasethat is available to the user at any time. To access the help manual,the user simply Selects the Agent portal. The Agent anticipates byproviding an animation of the Agent opening up its briefcase. The userthen Selects the help manual from within the Agent's briefcase.

State and Mode Information

The Agent is also used to express the current state or mode of the userinterface. To express the current state or mode the Agent changes itsclothing, changes its expression, or changes the props it is carrying.

For example, if the user interface of the present invention is placedinto a diagnostic mode, the clothing that the Agent is wearing ischanged to convey this fact. Referring to FIG. 17a, the Agent is shownin a doctor's uniform to symbolize that the user interface is in adiagnostic mode.

FIG. 17b provides another example of how the Agent's appearance canconvey state information When the user is in a writing state, the Agentis given a pencil to symbolize that the user interface is in a writingstate.

Alerts

While a user is using the hand-held display device of the presentinvention, certain events may occur that require the user to be informedimmediately. Such events are usually referred to as alerts. For example,if the hand-held display device is coupled to an electronic messagingservice, the hand-held display device should alert the user when amessage has been received that is addressed to the user.

In the user interface of the present invention, the Agent is used toobtain the user's attention in order to inform the user about anyalerts. To get the user's attention the Agent waves its hand.Additionally, if the alert is very important, the Agent may wave botharms or produce sounds to further attract the user's attention.

For example, when an event occurs that requires the user's attention,the Agent begins waving as illustrated in FIG. 17c. To explain whatcaused the alert, the Agent's appearance may be further altered asdemonstrated in the previous section in order to convey informationabout the specific alert. For example, when an urgent message arrives,the Agent can wave with one hand while holding a telegram in the otherhand.

Since alerts are generally more important than state or modeinformation, alerts will take precedence over state or mode information.Therefore, if the image of the Agent is currently being used to conveystate or mode information when an important event occurs, the image ofthe Agent will change to get the user's attention and inform the userabout the alert. For example, if the Agent is holding a pencil while inwriting mode, as illustrated in FIG. 17b, when an urgent messagearrives, the Agent will immediately change to the waving animation asillustrated in FIG. 17c to inform the user about the message.

Remote Device Control

The hand-held display device of the present invention is designed tocontrol remote devices. Accordingly, the user interface defined in theprevious section for the hand-held display device is designed to be anideal graphical user interface for controlling remote devices. Forexample, to control a device in the user's living room, a user firstmoves to the living room Space 60 of the user interface as illustratedin FIG. 7. The user then Selects an object corresponding to a devicethat the user wishes to control. For example, if the user desires tocontrol a television, the user Selects the television portal 73associated with a real television. When the user Selects the televisionportal 73, the television portal 73 anticipates and then displays agraphical user interface for controlling the physical television in theuser's living room. FIG. 8 illustrates one possible embodiment of a setof television controls for controlling a television. The user thencontrols the television using the set of television controls displayedon the hand-held display device.

In order for a remote device to be controlled by the hand-held displaydevice, the hand-held display device must have certain information aboutthe remote device. Specifically, the hand-held display device must beprovided with an object-oriented programming type of object that isassociated with the remote device. The object comprises a plurality ofmethods including a method for displaying the object on the displayscreen of the hand-held display device and a method for displaying agraphical user interface for the remote device.

To simplify the operation of the present invention, each compatibleremote device automatically transmits the required object-orientedprogramming type of object to the hand-held display device. When aremote device transmits the object to the hand-held display device, thehand-held display device invokes the method for displaying the object onthe display screen. The user can then move the object to an appropriateSpace. If the user Selects the object, the Selected object anticipatesand then the method for displaying the graphical user interface isinvoked. The method displays the remote device's graphical userinterface on the hand-held display device's touch screen display. Theuser can then control the remote device by interacting with the remotedevice's graphical user interface displayed on the touch screen display.

The hand-held display device of the present invention automaticallyobtains a graphical user interface from two types of compatible remotedevices. The first type of compatible remote device is the intelligentremote device with a dedicated computer control system. The second typeof compatible remote device is a simple remote device that can onlyrespond to simple coded commands.

The hand-held display device interacts differently with the two types ofcompatible remote devices. The hand-held display device communicateswith intelligent remote devices using peer-to-peer communication withremote method invocation for remote device control. The hand-helddisplay device communicates with simple remote devices using only simplecontrol codes. However, from the user's perspective the differencesbetween the intelligent remote devices and the simple remote devicescannot be seen, and the user's interaction with the graphical userinterface is identical for both types of remote devices. Theimplementation detail of whether a user's actions cause a remote methodinvocation, or transmission of control codes through some communicationmechanism is hidden from the user.

This section will explain how the two types of compatible remote devicestransmit information to the hand-held display device. Furthermore, athird type of remote device will explained. The third type of deviceconsists of any electrical device that can be controlled by codedinfrared signals.

Within this section, reference will be made to object-orientedprogramming type objects. Each object-oriented programming type ofobject contains data and methods that can be invoked to performfunctions. To simplify the terminology used, the term "program object"will be used when referring to an object-oriented programming type ofobject. To eliminate confusion, the objects displayed on the touchscreen display in the user interface disclosed in the previous userinterface will be referred to as "display objects" in this section.

Peer to Peer Communication With Remote Method Invocation

In the present invention, a remote device is defined as an "intelligentremote device" if that remote device contains a microprocessor, acommunication system, and a sufficient amount of memory such that it caninvoke methods in a program object. FIG. 1c illustrates, in blockdiagram form, the components in an intelligent remote device. Thehand-held display device of the present invention communicates withintelligent remote devices in a peer-to-peer fashion.

The intelligent remote device has an associated graphical user interfacecomprising touch screen control elements such as dials, switches,sliders, etc. The intelligent remote device's graphical user interfaceis defined within a user interface program object 303 stored in theintelligent remote device's memory 404. When an intelligent remotedevice is first turned on, the intelligent remote device automaticallytransmits its user interface program object 303 to the hand-held displaydevice. The hand-held display device can then display the user interfacefor the intelligent remote device as defined by the user interfaceprogram object.

When a user interacts with the intelligent remote device's graphicaluser interface as displayed on the hand-held display device, thehand-held display device invokes methods in a device driver programobject 301 within the intelligent remote to control the remote device.Thus the software that actually "controls" an intelligent remote deviceis located within the intelligent remote device itself.

The procedure of transmitting the user interface object 303 from anintelligent remote device to the hand-held display device will bedisdosed with reference to FIGS. 18a-18d, 19a-19d and the flowchart inFIG. 20. FIGS. 18a-18d illustrate, on a high level, how the intelligentremote device 150 and the hand-held display device 170 of the presentinvention communicate with each other. FIGS. 19a-19d illustrate, inconceptual form, how the user interface program object 303 in theintelligent remote device 150 is transmitted to the hand-held displaydevice 170.

Referring to step 101 of FIG. 20, when a new intelligent remote device150, such as the intelligent thermostat control device in FIG. 18a, isfirst turned on, the new intelligent remote device 150 broadcasts acrossthe communications network 160 that it has a user interface programobject to export. As set forth in the hardware section, thecommunication on the communications network 160 can take place usingradio waves, low power, cellular, infrared signals, or electricalsignals on existing power lines in the case of an Echelon® base LON®system. In step 102, a hand-held display device 170 receives theinterface export message. The hand-held display device 170 signals backacross the communications network 160 to the new intelligent remotedevice 150 requesting the new intelligent device 150 to begintransmitting the user interface object 303.

The intelligent remote device 150 then transmits the user interfaceobject 303 to the display device 170 as specified in step 103 of FIG. 20and illustrated in FIG. 18a. Referring to FIG. 19a, the intelligentremote device 150 also transmits a pointer (as indicated by dottedlines) to a device driver program object 301 within the intelligentremote device 150. The user interface program object 303 defines how theuser interface for the intelligent remote device 150 should appear on adisplay screen. The user interface program object 303 invokes methods ina device driver program object 301 to handle user interfaceinteractions. The device driver program object 301 contains methods thatcontrol the actual intelligent remote device 150. Referring to FIG. 19b,the display device 170 now has a copy of the intelligent device's userinterface program object 313 and a device driver program object 311pointer.

After receiving the user interface program object 313, the hand-helddisplay device 170 invokes a method in the user interface program object313 that renders a display object in the current Space as stated in step104. The new intelligent device 150 also registers with a remote nameserver connected to the communications network 160.

When a user Selects the display object associated with the newintelligent remote device 150, the hand-held display device 170 invokesa method in the user interface program object 313 as stated in step 105(the object with an invoked method is shown in bold). The method invokedin the user interface program object 313 displays the remote intelligentdevice's graphical user interface on the display screen 171 of thedisplay device 170 as illustrated in FIG. 18b. A user can interact withthe remote intelligent device's graphical user interface displayed onthe display device 170 as stated in step 106.

The user controls the intelligent remote device 150 by interacting withthe graphical user interface displayed on the hand-held display device170. To resolve the user's interactions, the user interface programobject 313 requires control methods in the intelligent remote device'sdevice driver program object 301. To access the control methods in theintelligent remote device's device driver program object 301, thehand-held display device 170 uses the device driver program objectpointer 311. The device driver program object pointer 311 invokes themethods in the real device driver program object 301. The intelligentremote device's device driver program object 301 is invoked by sending amessage over the communication network 160 as illustrated in FIGS. 18cand 19c (again, the object with an invoked method is shown in bold). Themethods invoked in the intelligent remote device's device driver programobject 301 control the intelligent device 150 as stated in step 108.

Finally, in step 109, any return values or feedback generated by thedevice driver program object 301 in intelligent remote device 150 aresent back to the hand-held display device 170 over the communicationsnetwork 160 as illustrated in FIGS. 18d and 19d. The user interfaceprogram object 313 changes the graphical user interface on the displayscreen 171 in response to the return values or feedback received fromdevice driver program object 301 in the intelligent remote device 150.

A robust communication protocol across the communications network 160 isrequired to communicate remote method invocations between the hand-helddisplay device 170 and the intelligent remote device 150. Both thehand-held display device 170 requesting the method invocation and theintelligent remote device 150 that executes the method must be able tohandle a broken communication path. Therefore, both the hand-helddisplay device 170 and the intelligent remote device 150 have adedicated remote procedure call (RPC) manager that handles the remotemethod invocation. Referring to FIGS. 19a-19d, the remote procedure callmanager 309 transmits the remote method invocation request for thehand-held display device 170. On the other side, a server remoteprocedure call manager 307 processes the received. remote methodinvocation in an intelligent remote device 150.

FIGS. 21a and 21b illustrate state diagrams used to control the remoteprocedure call (RPC) managers that handle the remote method invocationon both the hand-held display device 170 side and the remote deviceside. Taken together, state diagrams in FIGS. 21a and 21b disdose ahandshake used between the hand-held display device 170 and anintelligent remote device 150 to ensure reliable communications.

FIG. 21a illustrates a state machine for the remote procedure callmanager 309 in the hand-held display device 170 that handles the displaydevice's side of a remote method invocation. In the present invention,the user interface program object 313 in the hand-held display device170 requests remote method invocations to the device driver programobjects 301 located in remote intelligent devices. Referring to FIG.21a, when a user interface object requests a remote method invocation,the hand-held display device's RPC manager enters the "ready totransmit" state 403. The display device's RPC manager then sets an errorcountdown timer and transmits a packet containing a message with amethod selector and associated data. After transmitting the packet, thedisplay device's RPC manager enters a "waiting for reply" state 405. Ifthe proper reply message is sent back, the method invocation is completeand the reply message is analyzed at state 407.

Remote method invocations do not always complete so easily. If thedevice driver program object 301 in the intelligent remote device 150needs more time to complete the method, it will send back a messagerequesting more time. The display device's RPC manager responds bymoving to state 409 where it increases the timeout value. If the displaydevice's RPC manager does not receive a reply by the time the errorcountdown timer expires, the display device's RPC manager moves to an"error recovery" state 411. If the error countdown timer expires lessthan a predetermined number of times, the display device's RPC managerreturns to the "ready to transmit" state 403. If the error countdowntimer reaches a predetermined limit, the display device's RPC managerabandons the remote method invocation and enters a failed state 413. Theuser is then usually informed of the communications problem.

FIG. 21b illustrates a state machine for a remote procedure call manager307 in an intelligent remote device that handles the remote device'sside of a remote method invocation. The remote device's RPC manager 307starts in a "waiting to receive" state 451. When a packet is received,the remote device's RPC manager analyzes the packet at state 453. If thereceived packet contains a new message requesting a method invocation,the remote device's RPC manager gives the packet to an object thatperforms the method of the request at state 455. The remote device's RPCmanager then transmits a result and returns to the waiting state 451.

If the received packet contains a message that the remote device hasalready seen, the RPC manager of the intelligent remote device moves tostate 457 where the intelligent remote device determines whether themethod invocation request was already completed or whether it is stillworking on the request. If the intelligent remote device has alreadycompleted the request, the subsystem retransmits the results at state459 and returns to the waiting state 451. Otherwise, if the intelligentremote device is still working on the method invocation, the remotedevice's RPC manager moves to state 461 where the remote device's RPCmanager requests more time to complete the invoked method and thenreturns to the waiting state 451.

FIG. 21c illustrates the sequence of a remote method invocation wherethere are no communication problems. At step 501, a user interfaceobject in the hand-held display device requests a remote methodinvocation. Therefore, the user interface object sends a message with amethod selector and argument to the display device's RPC manager. Thedisplay device's RPC manager packs the message received into a packet atstep 502 and transmits the packet across the communications network atstep 503.

The intelligent remote device's RPC manager receives the transmittedpacket at step 504. The remote device's RPC manager unpacks the messagefrom the packet at step 505 and directs the packet to the device driverprogram object within the intelligent remote device. The device driverprogram object invokes the method specified by the method selector inthe message at step 506. The device driver program object generates areturn message that is passed back to the remote device's RPC manager.At step 507, the remote device's RPC manager packs the return messageinto a reply buffer. The remote device's RPC manager sends the replybuffer at step 508.

The display device's RPC manager receives the reply buffer at step 509and unpacks the reply buffer to extract a return value at step 510. Thedisplay device's RPC manager delivers the return value to the requestinguser interface program object that invoked the method in the devicedriver program object. Finally, the user interface program objectanalyzes the return value at step 511.

As illustrated, the present invention can control an intelligent remotedevice by remotely invoking methods in a device driver program objectlocated within the intelligent remote device. In addition, it will beappreciated by the reader that the remote device may also remotelyinvoke methods in the display device. For example, the device driverobject in a remote device may invoke a method in a user interface objectin the display device to display a message.

Many remote devices are not sophisticated enough to have internalcontrol methods that can be invoked by the display device. Therefore,the present invention provides other methods for controlling simpledevices.

Simple Device Control

In the present invention, a remote device is defined as a "simpledevice" if the remote device does not have a microprocessor or theremote device contains such a primitive processor that the displaydevice can not invoke control methods within the remote device. FIG. 1dillustrates, in block diagram form, the components in a simple remotedevice. To control a simple device, the hand-held display device of thepresent invention transmits simple predefined control codes instead ofinvoking control methods within the simple remote device. Therefore, tocontrol a simple remote device, the hand-held display device must obtainboth a user interface program object and a device driver program objectfrom the simple remote device.

An example of obtaining user interface program object and a devicedriver program object from a simple remote device is given withreference to FIGS. 22a-22d, 23a-23d and the flowchart in FIG. 24. FIGS.22a-22d illustrate on a high level how the remote simple device 155 andthe hand-held display device 170 of the present invention communicatewith each other. FIGS. 23a-23d illustrate, in conceptual form, how theuser interface program object 353 and the device driver program object351 of the remote external device 150 are transported the hand-helddisplay device 170 and used.

Referring to FIG. 22a, a thermostat implemented as a simple remotedevice 155 is illustrated. As specified by step 124 of FIG. 24, thesimple remote device 155 of FIG. 22a transmits both a user interfaceprogram object and a device driver program object to the hand-helddisplay device 170. Illustrated conceptually in FIG. 23a, the simpledevice 155 transmits the user interface program object 353 and thedevice driver program object 351. The transmission of the programobjects is done using some communications means 162 that may be acommunications network or any other means of transferring theinformation into the display device 170.

The hand-held display device 170 receives the copy of the user interfaceprogram object 363 that describes the simple device's graphical userinterface. The hand-held display device 170 then invokes a method in theuser interface program object 363 that renders a display object within aSpace shown on the hand-held display device 170. When a user Selects thedisplay object associated with the simple remote device 155, the displaydevice 170 invokes a method within the user interface program object 363as stated in step 125 of FIG. 24 and illustrated in FIG. 22b. The methodinvoked in the user interface program object 363 displays a graphicaluser interface associated with the simple remote device on the displayscreen 171 of the display device 170. The user can then interact withsimple remote device's graphical user interface on display device 170 asstated in step 127.

The user's interactions with the simple device's graphical userinterface are analyzed by the simple device's device driver programobject 361 within the display device 150. The device driver programobject 361 resolves the user's interactions into control codes that thesimple remote device 155 will respond to. As illustrated in FIG. 23c,the device driver program object 361 located within the display device170 analyzes the user's actions.

Referring to FIGS. 22c and 23c, the hand-held display device 170transmits the control codes to the simple remote device 155. The simpleremote device 155 changes in response to the control codes received asstated in step 130. Finally, if the simple remote device 155 and thedisplay device 170 are coupled together by a communications network, thesimple device 155 can transmit any return values or feedback generatedby the simple remote device 155 as illustrated in FIG. 22d.

Conventional Device Control

Existing remote devices that are not designed for the hand-held displaydevice of the present invention do not have a user interface programobject to transmit to the hand-held display device. For example, FIG. 1eillustrates a typical existing remote device that can only respond tocoded command signals such as infrared signals. In such cases, thehand-held display device must be manually informed about the remotedevice. The hand-held display device then uses a generic user interfaceprogram object for the type of remote device.

For example, if a user has a conventional television that is controlledby infrared signals, the user enters a model number of the television toinform the hand-held display device about the conventional television.The hand-held display device then accesses a database to obtain a listof the control codes that the conventional television will understands.A television display object is then created to control the conventionaltelevision. If the user selects television display object, the hand-helddisplay device will invoke a method that displays a generic televisionuser interface. When the user interacts with the generic television userinterface, the display device will transmit the proper infrared controlcodes to control the television.

Summary

The foregoing has described an intuitive graphical user interface basedupon a geographic map structure and a system for controlling remoteexternal electronic devices. In the user interface of the presentinvention, each Space of the geographic map structure is rendered on atouch screen display as a Space. Within each Space are colored iconscalled "objects" that can be Selected and manipulated by the user.Certain objects, referred to as portals, transport the user from oneSpace to another Space when Selected. Other objects, referred to asbuttons, perform associated actions or functions when Selected. The userinterface is displayed on a hand-held display device that can controlremote electronic devices. Each remote electronic device transmits auser interface program object that defines a graphical user interface tothe display device. The hand-held display device displays the graphicaluser interface associated with the remote device when a user selects anicon associated with the remote device on the display device's touchscreen display. It is contemplated that changes and modifications may bemade by one of ordinary skill in the art, to the materials andarrangements of elements of the present invention without departing fromthe scope of the invention.

We claim:
 1. An apparatus for controlling at least one remote device,said apparatus comprising:a central processing unit (CPU); a memorycoupled to said central processing unit; a display screen, said displayscreen coupled to said CPU, said display screen displaying graphicimages; a communications device configured to receive and transmitmessages across a communications network, said communications devicecoupled to said central processing unit; a device configured to receivevia said communications device a user interface program object defininga graphical user interface for a remote device, wherein each remotedevice broadcasts a corresponding user interface program object; and adevice configured to invoke a user interface method in said userinterface program object, said user interface method displaying agraphical user interface associated with said remote device on saiddisplay screen.
 2. The apparatus according to claim 1 furthercomprising:a device configured to accept input from a user, said inputguided by said graphical user interface associated with said remotedevice on said display screen; and a device configured to invoke adevice driver method executed by said remote device in response to saidinput from said user, said device driver method controlling said remotedevice.
 3. The apparatus for controlling at least one remote device asclaimed in claim 2, said apparatus further comprisinga device configuredto receive a device driver program object associated with said remotedevice over said communications means, said device driver program objectincluding a device driver method for controlling said remote device. 4.The apparatus for controlling at least one remote device as claimed inclaim 1 wherein said device driver method is broadcast by said remotedevice across said communications network and copied into saidapparatus.
 5. The apparatus for controlling at least one remote deviceas claimed in claim 4 wherein said device driver method translates saidinput from said user into a plurality of control codes.
 6. The apparatusfor controlling at least one remote device as claimed in claim 5 whereinsaid apparatus transmits said plurality of control codes to said remotedevice.
 7. The apparatus for controlling at least one remote device asclaimed in claim 2 wherein said device driver method is located withinsaid remote device.
 8. The apparatus for controlling at least one remotedevice as claimed in claim 7 wherein said device driver method isinvoked remotely across said communications network by said apparatus.9. The apparatus for controlling at least one remote device as claimedin claim 8 wherein said device driver method is remotely invoked using arobust remote procedure call manager.
 10. The apparatus for controllingat least one remote device claimed in claim 9, wheresaid robust remoteprocedure call manager comprises two pieces, a local piece located insaid apparatus and a remote piece located in said remote device, andsaid remote piece comprises a device configured to send a message tosaid local piece requesting more time to complete a method invocation.11. The apparatus according to claim 7 wherein said device driver methodis invoked by transmitting to said remote device a pointer to a devicedriver object within said remote device.
 12. The apparatus according toclaim 2 further comprising:a device configured to display a data object,said data object including information; and a device configured toprogram said remote device according to said information within saiddata object.
 13. The apparatus according to claim 2 further comprising adevice configured to accept said user interface program object when saidremote device is activated.
 14. The apparatus according to claim 2further comprising an element for receiving feedback data from saidremote device regarding the invocation of said device driver method. 15.The apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said device configured toinvoke a user interface method further comprises a device configured todisplay a portal object associated with said remote device.
 16. A methodof obtaining a graphical user interface from a remote device andcontrolling said remote device with a local display device, said localdisplay device coupled to a communication network, said methodcomprising:providing an element for performing the step of connectingsaid remote device to said communication network; providing an elementfor performing the step of signaling from said remote device that saidremote device has a graphical user interface to export upon beingconnected to said communication network; providing an element forperforming the step of requesting said graphical user interface by saidlocal display device; providing an element for performing the step oftransmitting a corresponding graphical user interface program objectcomprising a user-interface method for displaying said graphical userinterface on said local display device from said remote device to saidlocal display device; and providing an element for performing the stepof invoking said user-interface method in said user interface programobject such that said graphical user interface is displayed on saidlocal display device.
 17. The method of obtaining a remote device's userinterface from said remote device and controlling said remote devicewith a local display device as claimed in claim 16, wherein said methodfurther comprises the steps of:providing an element for performing thestep of interacting with said remote device's user interface displayedon said local display device; and providing an element for performingthe step of invoking a control method in a device driver program objectto handle said interactions with said remote device's user interface.18. The method of obtaining a remote device's user interface from saidremote device and controlling said remote device with a local displaydevice as claimed in claim 17, wherein said device driver program objectis located within said remote device.
 19. The method of obtaining aremote device's user interface from said remote device and controllingsaid remote device with a local display device as claimed in claim 18,wherein said control method in said device driver program object isinvoked remotely across said communications network.
 20. The methodaccording to claim 19 wherein said device driver method is invoked bytransmitting to said remote device a pointer to a device driver objectwithin said remote device.
 21. The method of obtaining a remote device'suser interface from said remote device and controlling said remotedevice with a local display device as claimed in claim 17, said methodfurther comprising the step of transmitting said device driver programobject across said communications network to said local display device.22. The method of obtaining a remote device's user interface from saidremote device and controlling said remote device with a local displaydevice as claimed in claim 21, wherein said device driver method withinsaid device driver program object is invoked within said local displaydevice.
 23. The method of obtaining a remote device's user interfacefrom said remote device and controlling said remote device with a localdisplay device as claimed in claim 22, wherein said device driver methodtranslates said user input into command codes.
 24. The method ofobtaining a remote device's user interface from said remote device andcontrolling said remote device with a local display device as claimed inclaim 23, wherein said local display device transmits said commandscodes to said remote device.
 25. The method according to claim 16wherein said step of invoking a user interface method further comprisesthe step of displaying a portal object associated with said remotedevice.
 26. The method according to claim 16 further comprising thesteps of:providing an element for performing the step of displaying adata object, said data object including information; and providing anelement for performing the step of programming said remote deviceaccording to said information within said data object.